Prime Hydration: The Boom, the Lawsuits and the Sales Slide

Prime Hydration went from launch to a reported $250 million in first-year retail sales on the reach of Logan Paul and KSI. Filed accounts and sales data now show a steep decline. Here is the dated record and what founders can take from it.

Prime Hydration is the clearest recent case of a creator-built product that sold on audience alone and then had to learn to sell without the hype. Logan Paul and KSI launched the sports drink in January 2022, Paul put its first-year retail sales at $250 million, and by 2025 filed accounts and retail data showed a sharp fall. This is the business story in dated steps, with the lawsuits described only as allegations and outcomes as reported.

Where it stands: In January 2026, Better Retailing reported that Congo Brands, the supplier behind Prime, was cutting jobs in the UK and elsewhere, and that a protein shake range had been announced that month. The outlet said Congo Brands had not yet replied to its request for comment.

How did Prime Hydration start?

Prime began as a single sports drink sold under two famous names. A January 2023 press release said the brand “launched in January 2022 with the coveted flagship beverage PRIME Hydration” and was adding a third product, Prime Energy, a canned drink with 200mg of caffeine per can. Paul said in that release that Prime had already grown to “surpass some of the biggest players in the industry.”

The two founders had been boxing rivals before they were partners. NPR, writing in July 2023, said Prime was “a brand owned by Louisville-based Congo Brands,” with Paul and KSI as its promoters. That structure matters for any founder reading this: the creators were the public faces, while an established beverage company owned the brand. Neither the release nor NPR stated how equity was split, so we do not repeat the percentage claims that circulate online.

The Prime Hydration boom in numbers

The early figures came from the founders and from press reports, not from audited accounts. In April 2023, Front Office Sports reported Paul’s claim of $250 million in first-year retail sales. Retail sales are what shoppers paid at the till, which is not the same as the revenue Prime itself booked. Tubefilter later wrote that Bloomberg had reported in 2023 that Prime was set to reach $1.2 billion in sales in its first year of operation.

In the UK, filed accounts give a harder number. According to The Grocer, the UK subsidiary went from launch in June 2022 to £112m of turnover within a year. Shortages and queues outside shops were part of the story; the same accounts later described the attention around the launch as “considerable.”

Date Milestone (source)
Jan 2022 Prime Hydration launches (company release)
Jan 2023 Prime Energy added, 200mg caffeine (company release)
Apr 2023 Paul cites $250M first-year retail sales (Front Office Sports)
Jul 2023 Health Canada says Prime Energy should not be sold (AP)
Jun 2025 UK turnover down 71% for 2024 (The Grocer)
Jul 2025 US sales down 42% year over year, per Circana (Tubefilter)
Jan 2026 Congo Brands job cuts reported (Better Retailing)

How the model made money

Prime’s model was simple: a low-priced bottle, sold through big retailers and promoted to two of the largest audiences on YouTube. Paid sponsorships added reach the creators could not supply alone. NPR listed deals naming Prime the official sports drink of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arsenal and the UFC. Front Office Sports reported a separate agreement with Base Sports Group to put Prime at 60 youth sports events.

The lesson is that creator distribution lowers the cost of the first sale. It does not, on its own, produce the repeat purchase a drinks brand needs once the novelty fades.

Regulators, recalls and lawsuits: what was alleged and how it ended

Prime’s legal record is mostly about claims made against it, and the company has disputed them. Each item below is an allegation, with Prime’s response and the reported outcome.

  • Caffeine scrutiny (2023). Senator Chuck Schumer asked the FDA to look at Prime Energy, calling it a “cauldron of caffeine,” NPR reported. Prime told NPR its caffeine level falls “within the legal limit of the countries it’s sold in” and that it had followed FDA guidelines. The FDA said it was reviewing the letter and would reply to Schumer directly. We found no reported FDA action against the brand.
  • Canada (2023). AP reported that Health Canada said Prime Energy exceeded its 180-milligram caffeine limit per serving and should not be sold there. A company representative told AP the drink carries an under-18 warning and has caffeine comparable to competitors. This concerned Prime Energy, not the uncaffeinated Prime Hydration.
  • PFAS class action (filed 2023). A California suit alleged that testing found PFAS chemicals in the grape flavor, USA Today reported. Paul answered that “anyone can sue anyone at any time” and that a lawsuit does not make a claim true. Dexerto reported in January 2025 that Paul said the suit had been dismissed.
  • Caffeine labeling suit (2024). A New York consumer alleged misleading claims about caffeine content, per USA Today. Paul said that suit was also dropped, Dexerto reported.
  • US Olympic committee (2024). A trademark suit over a Kevin Durant bottle ended in a confidential settlement, and a court dismissed it with prejudice in January 2025, according to Dexerto.

Why Prime Hydration sales fell

The UK company’s own accounts said consumer interest had “moderated” after the launch, and the published figures show how far sales dropped, though different markets were measured in different ways. The Grocer reported that the UK company’s filed accounts showed turnover down 71% to £32.9m for 2024, and that profit fell from £4.4m to £940k. The accounts said the business wanted to move from “an initial hyper-growth phase” to a more durable position and had begun a strategic review.

In the US, Tubefilter reported in July 2025 that Circana data, cited by journalist Darren Rovell, showed sales down 42% year over year, and noted that some outlets claimed declines as steep as 90%. Those figures come from different data providers and periods, so they should not be added together or treated as one trend line.

Lessons for founders from Prime Hydration

  • Separate launch demand from repeat demand. Queues and resale prices proved curiosity. Only reorder rates prove a brand.
  • Know whose balance sheet you are on. A partner like Congo Brands can scale a product fast, but the creators’ upside then depends on terms the public rarely sees.
  • Plan for scrutiny that matches your audience. A young fan base invited questions from lawmakers and regulators about caffeine and marketing, even though the company disputed the concerns.
  • Keep shipping product. Prime kept adding lines, from energy cans to protein shakes, which is the usual response once a hero product slows.

For the people behind the brand, see our profiles of the Sidemen’s companies, which KSI helped build, and Jake Paul’s Betr and W brand, which show a different path for a creator-led company. The most recent filed UK figure remains the £32.9m of turnover for 2024 reported by The Grocer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns Prime Hydration?

NPR reported in July 2023 that Prime belongs to Congo Brands of Louisville, Kentucky, with Logan Paul and KSI as its public faces and co-founders. The exact ownership split has not been disclosed in a filing we could read.

When did Prime Hydration launch?

Prime Hydration launched in January 2022, according to a January 2023 company press release. The UK business launched in June 2022, according to The Grocer.

How much did Prime make in its first year?

Front Office Sports reported in April 2023 that Logan Paul put Prime’s first-year retail sales at $250 million. Tubefilter later noted that Bloomberg had reported in 2023 that the brand was on course for $1.2 billion in sales.

Are Prime sales falling?

Yes, by the measures that have been published. The UK subsidiary reported a 71% drop in turnover for 2024, according to The Grocer, and Tubefilter cited Circana data showing US sales down 42% year over year in July 2025.

Was Prime Hydration recalled?

Health Canada said in July 2023 that Prime Energy, the caffeinated canned drink, exceeded Canadian caffeine limits and should not be sold there, AP reported. Prime said its caffeine levels were legal in the markets where it is sold.

Sources

This article is general information for founders and is not accounting, legal or investment advice. Net worth figures are estimates published by the outlets named, on the dates shown. They are not disclosed by the people profiled, they move with markets and private valuations, and different publications reach different numbers. Found Founders is not affiliated with anyone profiled here.